


Through the eyes of Christmas

by annplanet



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Childhood Sweethearts, Christmas Miracle, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-27
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2019-02-22 13:35:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13168002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/annplanet/pseuds/annplanet
Summary: Magnus and Alec became friends in the name of Christmas. But will they finally reveal their love for one another on the day of Christmas, years later?





	Through the eyes of Christmas

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HotaruYuki](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HotaruYuki/gifts).



> Hey everyone! This is a gift for the lovely-hotaruyuki on tumblr!

"Could you not stand here and sulk?" Izzy said harshly to Alec, tapping lightly against his crisp black shoes with her sharp, tipped heel.

Alec looked at her with the persistent sulk. He took in her outfit, which was a red, full length dress with a halter neck. Her signature red lipstick matched with it, pairing itself to make the perfect Christmas party outfit.

Which was where Alec was at.

Wearing a tight blue suit which hugged his still growing body very prominently that he could feel the movement of his muscles wringing the fabric to a stretched extent. His hair was mercifully spared by his sister, Izzy, for once, as she said that the messy look complimented his outfit tremendously.

Alec pretended to believe that.

The High School Christmas party was a full swing. There were no signs of misbehaving, nor of humiliation. Which is a good atmosphere for it leads Alec to almost believe that he won't be humiliated tonight.

The students were genuinely merry and joyous. Alec had to admit, he enjoyed seeing the smiles being shared by everyone to each other. Alec himself was greeted with a generous (and frightening because he didn't even _know_ some of the people) amounts of enthusiastic 'Merry Christmas!' wishes. He tried his best to reciprocate the enthusiasm, although, he perplexed mind couldn't grasp  the general Christmas joy.

It's not that he hates Christmas or doesn't understand the wonders of it. He just can't seem to find the same joy he has experienced the years before with a certain person.

Magnus Bane

A.K.A, his best friend.

Also the guy he has been crushing on _hell knows how long_.

And the reason for his general desolate feeling that day was present in the party as well, dancing around with the other students.

Magnus did wish him when he had entered the school building that morning, and even gave Alec a good look of his outfit. He wore a tight green, short-sleeved dress shirt, with the first few buttons opened and adorned with shining golden necklaces that complimented his equally radiant skin. To add injury to the gaping wound in Alec's stomach caused by butterflies, he wore a tight, shiny, dark purple pants, that stuck to his skin as another layer of skin. His face wore minimal makeup, although it was quite eye catching, with the enticing pink eye shadow that gave a _heart-paining_ depth to his intense brown eyes. His hair tips, which he decided to let hang upon his forehead, was dyed with red dye, showing his joyous Christmas spirit.

If only Alec could feel the same as the love of his life.

Magnus had noticed him in the beginning of the party and even came up to him to compliment on his outfit, however, Camille Bitch- sorry, Belcourt got extremely attention craving and pulled him away before Alec could wish the same to Magnus. He has been seeing Magnus' apologetic eyes for the rest of the night, swimming in front of his vision, mocking him on how impossible it is for Magnus to be for once, by his side.

Alec sighed, leaning on the wall even more tiredly. He sipped the juice that his sister had handed him in a very _sickening_ happy cup and left to dance with her boyfriend, Simon Lewis. That did bring somewhat up his mood, because he at least knew that his sister had gotten her childhood sweetheart after years of pining and _not-so-subtle_ heart eyes.

He eyes wandered for the  millionth time that night to Magnus' figure, laughing around with his other friends. Alec knew them as well, although they weren't in the same friend circle. He didn't go towards them, knowing that Magnus and Camille would be sticking by them as well.

 _When did my life come to this?,_ Alec thought, forlornly.

His brain, _and his heart_ , decided that this was the best time to remind him when _did_ his life come to this.

~~  ~~  ~~

Ten years old

Little Alec, stumbled on his polished black shoes on his way to school, while trying to tub off the red lipstick mark left on his cheek by his mom who gave him a big kiss with a loving 'Merry Christmas'. It did not help that she also squished both his cheeks adoringly saying how big and cute they were. Obviously, Alec groaned and complained about it, but on the inside, it helped him to calm down his nerves.

Because today, was the day everyone was going to give their secret Santa gifts to each other... and Alec was nervous that the person he had been assigned to him would not like the gift he got for her.

Catarina Loss was one of the most popular girls in his school. He had never spoken to her but he knew her name, and often would see her seated in front of his in most of his classes. However, he highly doubted that the girl would in turn know him.

When he had received her name in the draw hosted by his teacher, he started to brainstorm at that moment. Hr had no idea what she liked and even trying to observe her was no use because he felt like a creep. But one thing he did notice was that she loved to read books on science a lot. Since she sat in front of him, he often saw her sneakily reading a science book right under the intended textbook.

Alec walked into classroom, praying that the lipstick mark had faded away. The classroom was cleared of all tables and chairs, and replaced with a comfortable rug situated on the floor with most of the students sitting in a circle, chattering away.

Alec was never a talkative boy, always preferring to read books during most the free time, that is, if the few of his friends were busy during that time. He saw his latest friend, Jace, sitting in the circle, excitedly awaiting for his own gift. He spotted Alec and waved enthusiastically with his already perfectly aligned teeth (Alec wondered _how_ was that even possible at that age) and patted on the seat next to him. Alec walked gratefully towards him, opting to sit slightly outside the circle so that he wasn't the focus of attention.

He looked around the room, spotting all the various gifts held by different students. Some were kept in a bag while some were packed in colorful packaging. His eyes landed on Catarina once he warily looked at others' gifts.

His heart began to beat at full speed. She wasn't looking at him, laughing at a joke one of her friends said, but he had already begun to imagine various scenarios where she would receive his gift, hate it and yell at him for being a terrible gift-er.

By the time he had reached his fourth scenario, where Catarina sees his gifts and despises it so much that she throws it to the ground and stomps on it, the teacher claps her hands four times in a row to bring the attention of the buzzing excitement towards her.

The sound worked and everyone quietened themselves to hear what she has to say. Catarina sat in the circle with her friends, her back straight and her intelligent eyes focused on the teacher. "Okay everyone! It's time to give each other your gifts! All of you have been super nice to me and naughty to the teachers I hate," the teacher teased, winking at all of them. The student body giggled unanimously. Even Alec laughed, loving the new form of sense of humor he found in this teacher. It also helped him to forget his  ongoing panic for a second.

"But, that doesn't matter because in this case, all of you have been good santas!" She complimented. "I don't see a single child not holding a gift. Good job everyone! Now, let's hand it over."

The next moment became a sudden blur for Alec that he lost his train of thought. All the kids got up in such a haste  it was truly frightening. Soon, he found the control of his legs and got up as well, surprised that he didn't even stumble.

He saw Catarina waiting for her secret santa to come over and hand her the gift. She was on her tip toes, peering over the crowd. Alec gulped but nonetheless, walked over to her.

"Um, hi," he began shyly. Catarina's intelligent eyes focused on him. "I'm your secret santa," he introduced himself in a squeaky, awkward voice. He stretched his hand to offer her the gift wrapped package. "Here's your gift," he said finally, in conclusion.

Catarina's eyes widened at the parcel with excitement. She snatched it out of Alec's little hands albeit not rudely. "Thank you so much, my secret santa!" she exclaimed sweetly. Alec was surprised by how excited she was to receive the gift. He was even more surprised when she tore it open at that moment and stared at the book in her hand.

Alec expected her to flinch, or yell, or throw a fit, but instead she began to squeal. " _How did you even know I've been wanting this book forever_?" she asked happily, hugging the colorful book against her chest like it's her baby. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" she yelled gratefully.

The biggest weight on Alec's chest left him immediately. He was glad that Catarina loved the gift. Judging by her extremely polite behavior, she deserved to receive something like this. "You're welcome," he replied sincerely, touched by her reaction.

"What's your name?" she asked curiously. Alec swallowed in hesitation.

"I'm Alec," he introduced himself, wondering where did the two go from there. Catarina's eyes widened.

"Wait, _you're Alec_? I can't believe it, my friend's been looking for you! Wait here, Magnus!" she turned to looked behind her. "Magnus! I found the person who you're supposed to give the gift to!"

Alec stood there frozen. He had completely forgotten that he had a secret santa too and he was going to receive a gift as well. He hadn't prepared his reaction to the gift at all.

A small boy walked up to the both of them, his cheeks chubbier than Alec's. The hazel eyed boy recognized him as Magnus Bane, one of Catarina's popular friends. Magnus regarded him with friendliness before waving his hand in front of him enthusiastically.

"Hi, I'm Magnus, and I'm your secret angel!" he introduced himself. Alec frowned at the name change.

"Isn't this thing actually called 'secret santa'?" he asked confusedly. Catarina rolled her eyes in the back as if she already knew the answer.

"Yeah it is," Magnus admitted. "But I don't want to be compared to that old guy, so I'll be an angel instead," he explained with frivolity.

Alec stared at Magnus with amazement. Is it possible to like someone _this_ much at once and in the first instance itself? Magnus handed Alec his gift with insistence. "Open it!" he persuaded the shyer boy.

Alec, still reeling from Magnus' openness, tore the gift wrap of his gift dreamily. What he found in the package made his eyes go wider.

"How did you know that this is my favorite series? Alec asked dazedly, his eyes staring at the _Famous Five_ book perched upon his hands. This time, Magnus looked slightly shy, looking down on the floor.

"Well, I was there in the book shop when you were buying the book for Catarina," Magnus revealed, tipping his head towards the girl, who stepped away to talk to someone else. "And I saw you staring at it. But I think you didn't have enough money at the time because you didn't buy it. You looked so sad and I had learnt your name a few days before when I became your secret santa. So I bought you this book!" he finished with a flourish. He stared at Alec with a level of anxiousness and expectancy.

Alec felt himself tear up a bit. He had been completely heartbroken when he couldn't buy the book for himself, deciding to spend his pocket money instead on Catarina's gift. "Thank you so much," he whispered to Magnus, trying to keep in a sob. He didn't usually cry over little things but this made him feel really touched and cared for.

Magnus smiled at him as if he understood him. He rushed in and hugged Alec in comfort, allowing the other boy to relax against him, letting one or two tear drop. He was grateful that Magnus didn't make it awkward.

Christmas was known as the time when Jesus Christ was born, but for Alec another personal special meaning was born too. The friendship with his best friend was also born around that time too.

~~  ~~  ~~

"Alec? Alec, are you okay?" a hazy voice called out.

Alec snapped himself back to the present and saw that Catarina was standing in front of him, looking at him with a mix of amusement and concern.

"You just went out of your head for a second there," she explained her concern teasingly. Alec blushed harshly, not believing that he genuinely couldn't hear her for a second there.

 "Sorry," he said with faux-guilt. Catarina raised one eyebrow at him before leaning against the wall right next to him.

She sighed with meaning, staring at something on the dance floor. Alec knew that her sigh was one of irritation from years of knowing her. This time, he looked at her with concern.

''What happened, Cat?" he asked, scanning her face to see anymore signs of annoyance.

She sighed once more before wavering her eyes between the dance floor and Alec, as if she was in a conflict. She wanted to say something so bad but she couldn't. "Just say it, Cat," Alec insisted, ready to comfort his best friend.

"It's Magnus," she finally blurted out.

The nerves in Alec's face felt the color drain out of it. His hand tightened around the empty cup he has been holding, crunching the weak material not-so-subtly. "What about him? he asked through his gritted teeth.

Catarina looked at him as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. "Well, look at him," she said, pointing at the dance floor in answer. Alec's eyes reluctantly wandered to it.

Magnus was dancing with his usual grace. With Camille in his arms. And no smile on his face.

It was a surprising sight, because Magnus loved to dance. He would often stay up night, conjuring up dance moves and showing it to Alec immediately. The mere action of it always made Alec feel special. Once he had asked Magnus why he did so, the only reply he got was a shrug and a 'Because you're my bestest friend'.

Alec always thought of himself as that after those words. Magnus' bestest friend.

And the innate love for his bestest friend made him want to go to the dance floor in the middle of his dance and comfort him. But somehow he found himself physically rooted to the wall, as if the thing was holding him back completely.

"He looks like he's doesn't want to be there," Catarina observed, her tone conveying a slightly different message which Alec caught on.

He swallowed with effort. "Where does he want to be then?" he asked in reply.

A beat followed. Catarina was clearly making the choice whether she should tell what's on her mind to Alec or not. "He wants to be with you," she finally said, her voice breaking free from its restraints Only if Alec could do the same.

His facade broke with shatter, and he slouched against the wall. " _Please_ ," he said, shutting his eyes firmly. "Please don't say it."

"He's been trying to talk to you all night but that Camille woman has been holding him back. I think it's high time that you both tell each other that you love each other before you hurt yourselves even further-"

"Stop," Alec's breaking voice cut off Catarina's words. "Magnus does not love me...in that way." His eyes began to heat up with tears.

Catarina looked frustrated with him, her eyes trying their best to make Alec believe what his heart wants to believe. But, the moment she opened her mouth to speak, someone else called out her name in urgency.

She whipped her head towards the voice and sighed again. She turned back to Alec with exasperation. "If you truly think that Alec, you are the fool of denial," she said ominously, before walking away from in her strength and intellect.

Alec's sad eyes drifted to Magnus once again. He saw him twirling Camille around unwillingly and dejectedly. Alec's heart ached for him, and he wished that he could be with him. The night hasn't been any short of miserable ever since he got there. Maybe it's because he barely exchanged any words with him.

Soon, his vision began to mix colors and sights, and he began to see instead of Magnus and Camille dancing, two smaller and younger boys, dancing with their arms around each other, happy and overwhelmed with the Christmas spirit. Their laughs flooded Alec's ears till he recognized the one of them as his own which he hasn't heard from himself in a very long time...

~~  ~~  ~~

 14 years old

The Christmas tree was decked with every ornament there is in the Lightwood household. So were the Lightwoods.

The gifts stacked under the tree provided an energy of mystery and anticipation on the air, making all the people attending the Annual Lightwood Christmas party very energetic.

Alec had invited his friends, Magnus, Catarina, Ragnor and Raphael. The former two were merrily wearing cuddly sweaters as per the dress code of the party while the latter two were grumpy that they were forced into something 'disgustingly cute' and 'Christmas-y'.

Alec felt the same as Raphael and Ragnor, however, unlike them, he had resigned himself to it.

The Christmas lights around the house had brightened the place considerably. He remembered helping his little brother Max and father, Robert put them up. It took them hours to finish the simple task (they got tangled with the tricky wires) but they managed to do it just a few seconds before the first guess wrung the doorbell.

Alec sitting below the Christmas tree, still arranging the gifts in order, when he began the buzz in the entire room. His mom was walking around in her impressive high heels paired with jeans and a green jumper. She was walking around, offering all the teenagers with her homemade cookies. She stopped in the middle to give a scolding look to Max for taking an extra cookie, but smiled a second later and sneakily gave him another one.

Izzy's friends Maia, Jace, Clary and Simon also arrived. Alec was close to them as well, but since they were a bit younger, it was hard to relate with them completely. Maybe few years later the friendship would resume its initial pace.

Simon's sweater was full of threads that often kept getting tangled with his fingernails. He managed to just that at that moment, and Jace and Maia had to roll their eyes and help him untangle from it.

Izzy and Clary were standing a little afar from the trio, complimenting each other's dresses and giggling. Catarina was standing with Ragnor and Raphael, teasingly appraising their outfits to rub salt to the wound.

Alec's eyes halted mid-observation when he realized that one person when he noticed was missing from the entire celebration but could've sworn he had seen him just a few seconds ago.

" _Boo!_ ," a voice yelled in Alec's ear, causing him to jump up and rub his ear in comfort. Magnus was crouching right behind the position he was in, his face showing a complete grin in victory.

"Magnus!'' Alec whined, rubbing his ear more furiously. "You almost tore my ear drum!"

Magnus scoffed at the drama. "Oh please," he said, rolling his eyes. "My voice has been told it's like the voice of an angel. I believe I've made your ear better than before. Now you can hear sounds from miles away." He got up from his position to walk up to Alec.

Alec averted his eyes to the ceiling and then looked on either sides of himself, "What's that? I swear I can hear faint sounds but I don't know where it is coming from."

Magnus punched him on the shoulder hard to shut him up. Alec broke his character and laughed as loud as he could at Magnus' pout. Unknowingly, he made two people, Izzy and Catarina, stop middle of the conversations and regard them with a pleased smile.

"Thanks for inviting me by the way," Magnus spoke, his voice filled with wonder and gratitude. Alec was still smiling his big smile but cocked his head to the side in slight confusion.

"Of course," he replied disbelievingly, "Why won't I invite you?"

Magnus looked to the ground in part shame and part sadness. "I've never had a Christmas that was filled with an actual family. So I'm just grateful to be a part of one."

Alec smiled an understanding smile before pulling his best friend into a big bear hug. The jumpers they wore created a great amount of warmth in their hearts.

"You two boys are so adorable," a cooing voice spoke. When they parted, they saw that it was Maryse, standing there with a tray with only two cookies. "Here, have these," she offered. Alec looked at it mischievously.

He picked up the two cookies before Magnus could take one, "Thanks mom!" he said quickly, before running away from Magnus.

"Not fair!" Magnus complained before chasing after his well deserved cookie. "One of them was supposed to be mine!" he yelled from behind.

"You were too slow to stake your claim, Magnus Bane," Alec yelled back, ducking under the hanging fairy lights in order to get to the other room.

The cat and mouse game continued for about twenty minutes, with constant inputs from Alec's parents to not break anything. Alec was expecting Magnus to get tired and eventually ask to stop the game, but the shorter boy seemed to be as persistent and energetic as ever.

Finally, Alec ran into a room and was about to leave from the other door when he noticed that he was no longer being tailed. He stopped his activity in order to bask in his confusion. Did Magnus finally put an end to the chase and realized the cookie wasn't worth it? Alec held the two cookies in his hands, waiting for someone or even Magnus to come out of nowhere and tell him the game is over. However, he feels a hard weight crash into his back, which sends him several steps ahead.

"Gotcha!" Magnus squealed in victory, taking the deserving cookie from Alec's hand over his shoulder. He took a bite out of it and groaned at the feel of the chocolate chips dancing on his tongue.

Alec stood there, shaking his head disbelievingly. He silently ate his own cookie and laughed at the way Magnus was making the taste even more dramatic. Damn, the guy was seriously needing the cookie.

"Well, look what we have here," a conniving little voice spoke from the other side of the room. It was Isabelle, who wore a sly look on her face with glee. She was followed by the rest of the other kids who also wore cunning looks on their faces.

"We knew this was a high time coming," Catarina spoke immediately after Izzy had spoken. "The way you both were running, we knew you would stumble upon our trap."

The two boys were confused, looking at each other as the other one would explain everything. Catarina and Izzy rolled their eyes in unison, while Jace, Simon and Clary giggled in mischief. Ragnor and Raphael were just as confused as they were. Clearly, they weren't included in the planning of the 'trap'.

"The mistletoe," Izzy exasperatedly pointed to the spot above them. Truth already told, the two cornered off boys looked up to see the ornament hanging right above their head. They gulped simultaneously.

''You know what that means," Izzy drawled, wiggling her eyebrows.  Magnus and Alec gulped once again. How could someone as young as Izzy be already such a troublemaker?

"No, " Alec said while Magnus made an affirmative "Yes..."

Izzy beamed, "Good! I guess I don't have to explain to you how it works right?"

The rest snickered, even Raphael and Ragnor this time. Magnus and Alec ignored them in favor of just staring at each other, each unsure of what to do.

They turned their bodies to face each other. Alec stared at Magnus' intense brown eyes, the way he looked back at him with an apology and a nervous statement. Alec was sure he felt the same. He felt apologetic for his sister doing this and he felt nervous because he's being made to kiss his best friend. Awkward right?

"Alec," Magnus whispered, a small smile playing at one end of his lips. "It's okay. Let's just do it for the Christmas spirit," he said, teasingly with a wink.

Alec rolled his eyes, "You told me to hand you all the reese's pieces on Halloween for 'Christmas spirit' once."

Magnus shrugged, "When in doubt, do it in the name of Christmas." Alec laughed a true laugh at that. Their shyness messed up their humor even more.

"I can't believe I didn't notice that thing up there," Alec said, pointing at the mistletoe above them with his eyes. "How did Izzy even reach up there?"

This time, Magnus rolled his eyes. "There are a lot of way to reach a certain height, for example, a stool, a chair et cetera." He smirked.

"Do I have to actually explain the rules of the mistletoe?" Izzy butted in, her voice conveying her annoyed tone. "It's more of kissy faces and less chit-chat faces."

Alec gave her a death stare, to which Magnus laughed at. Suddenly, Alec felt a gentle, passionate press against his cheek for a brief second. He was so surprised, and still staring at Izzy's direction that he hadn't realized that Magnus had just kissed his cheek. He turned his head back to face the shorter boy, and stared in amazement.

Despite it being for just one second, Alec felt his heart bursting open. He could describe the exact feel of Magnus' gentle lips. The softness was soothing on Alec's face which was slowing losing some of the fat in his cheeks due to puberty. The lips felt like touch of a gentle droplet of water, that was gracing his skin after being weeks in a dry desert with no water. It was calming and exhilarating all at the same time.

Magnus was still trying to look into his eyes. He looked slightly regretful, and Alec realized just then that he had been staring with his mouth open for a long time. He close it, overcoming the gravity that was withholding it, and began to feel confident.

He leaned in, and kiss Magnus' cheek in return. The warm skin against his chapped lips were the same experience as the feeling of Magnus' rose petal lips on his skin. Alleviating and freeing.

 

Magnus' eyes widened considerably, looking at Alec with amazement. He raised his hand, dazedly, to touch the skin where Alec kissed. Alec's own heart, which had bursted previously, began to feel it form itself up again, plastering the moment onto itself as a safeguard.

"Alexander," Magnus whispered mystically, completely entranced by the moment they were having.

Before Alec could say something back, Izzy quipped in, _again,_ "Okay! New rules! The people under the mistletoe now have to dance with each other," she chirped in.

Magnus and Alec whipped their heads towards here, " _What?_ " They both screeched at the same time.

Izzy ignored them and had already begun to manipulate the with stereo system in the room, with her nimbly fingers. Soon, the room was flooded with a symphony of an instrumental piano playing. The music drowned the two overwhelmed boys, who seemed to be the only ones susceptible to being washed away by it.

"Come on," Ragnor's teasing voice rang out. "Move those pesky limbs to do the mumbo."

Both the boys yelled a 'Shut up, Ragnor' to which Ragnor pouted and mumbled about how he gets picked on by others because he had fabulous, curly hair.

The music was slowly picking up pace, but neither of the boys moved to make the first move. _Hell_ , Alec was wishing neither of them make the first move because he _for sure_ , can't dance.

But, Magnus Bane wouldn't definitely not allow him some boring, old peace.

"Okay!" Magnus chirped, grabbing Alec's hand into his. "Let's do this, Alexander."

"No, I'll make a fool out of myself," Alec complained, still not moving from his position. Magnus rolled his eyes fondly.

"I'll lead you, okay?"

Alec stood there, his one hand still in Magnus' and his other friends already beginning to forget what they were trying to make the both of them do.  Some of them started to dance with each other, ignoring them both completely.

Alec debated slightly. Magnus looked pretty excited to dance to the upbeat and happy music. Why not indulge him? It's not like any of his true friends would judge him. He sighed finally, "Fine." Alec hurried his speech when he saw Magnus quip up. "But only for two minutes, okay?"

Magnus shrugged, "I'll take what I can get."

He pulled Alec to the middle of the room, and put his arms around his waist. Alec instinctively put his own around Magnus' shoulders. He was dreading the amount of trouble his awkward legs would put him through, but the dread slipped away when he and Magnus got pressed up close. His breath hitched at the feeling of Magnus' body supporting him.

"Follow my steps, okay?" Magnus said with care. Alec nodded frantically, trying to keep his eyes on his feet to see how they move, but they keep going back up to stare into Magnus' deep, kind brown eyes.

Soon, they began to move. The dance was just a mild sway, clearly initiated by Magnus to make Alec comfortable with the music a bit. Turned out, Alec wasn't the only one who seemed to lose his balance here and there, Magnus did too, for some reason.

The dance between the two teens picked up after they both started to feel a little foolish. Magnus forced Alec to do the spin, to which the taller boy did very ungracefully. However, he wasn't embarrassed by it.

In fact, he was enjoying it.

The two boys laughed and danced with joy in their hearts. They stumbled and tripped, but they made it back to the smooth waltz immediately after.

And that's how the vision played in front of the present Alec's eyes.

The sight of two boys he hasn't seen this happy for a long time.

And the sound of laughs he hadn't heard from them in a long time.

~~ ~~ ~~

"Alec?" another voice tried to bring back Alec. "Alec? Are you alright?"

The vision of two boys in a jumper faded and revealed to Alec, the sight of a very distressed Magnus standing in front of him.

His best friend, who seemed to be composed in the beginning of the evening, was now jittery and very eager to leave the party, something very unusual about Magnus. "Magnus?" Alec asked, concerned for his best friend.

Alec could see the muscles on Magnus' face forcefully bringing a smile, "Hey dreamer," he tried to say with faux-happiness. Alec brows drew in together. What happened?

"You okay?" he asked. Magnus' eyes tried to stay on Alec, but eventually looked down, as if he couldn't help it. He was breathing very heavily, Alec's own breaths matching him in panic.

After the brief flashback, Alec's repressed love for his best friend seemed to make an appearance again. The last two years, he's been forcibly pretending to be supportive and friendly towards Magnus' girlfriend. But today was another day of their last school year, on Christmas, which was the time they had met on years ago. And for some reason, the emotions were running high within him.

It did not help that Magnus himself seemed to be extremely disturbed. The concern bubbled within Alec, fusing itself with the love he has been always feeling for this stunning man.

Magnus forced out a laugh, "I don't think I'm okay," he confessed, crossing his arms as if guarding himself.

The painful worry inside Alec hurt him internally, breaking him from the inside, and soon will on the outside unless he makes a beeline away from Magnus at that instant.  "Why?"

Magnus looked up at him, his face showing incredulity. "What? You didn't notice?"

Alec stared back with the same confusion, "Um, no?"

Magnus shook his head, his face adopting a genuine, but sad smile. "Camille and I broke up."

The pain inside suddenly, began to evaporate, as if disappearing and showing no trace of ever being present.  The love Alec's heart possessed, began to rejoice at the news, not feeling a single ounce of regret nor shame. This was what Alec had been unintentionally waiting for.

"I'm surprised you did not notice," Magnus continued to talk, although his words seemed to be in haste, as if he was panicking on the inside. "Camille made a huge ass scene in the middle of the party."

Alec swallowed the thick relieving sigh in, trying to express his support and concern as it's his duty as a best friend to show it. "Oh?'' he managed out, barely opening his lips, in fear that he'll blurt his unrequited love to his crush right there and there. "Looks like I zoned out completely," he said with a nervous laugh. His mind was surprised how could he have missed something as big as this.

"You did seem like that," Magnus chuckled. His face shifted to one of concern as well. "Are _you_ okay? Your eyes seemed very...distant."

Alec shook his head, trying hard to dismiss the fact that he had been very obvious. "I'm fine," he said quickly. Magnus shouldn't be worried about a person was rejoicing on the inside right now, "Why did you two break up?"

Magnus inhaled sharply, as if he didn't want to approach the topic. "She,  um, figured out something..."

Alec frowned, his mind already debating what could have she found to finally remove her talons from Magnus. "What was it?"

Magnus shut his eyes firmly, clearly trying to keep the tears in. Alec realized that he had approached a topic that his friend didn't want to approach.

"She found out... I was in love with someone else."

It was like a glass shattered, piercing Alec from within. How can just some few words, change everything in one second? How can feelings change so quickly?

The vine, that gripped Alec tightly with celebration, fell down as fragments of broken hopes and joys. All Alec's life, he's been enjoying all the Christmas days he has experienced. But today, was the day he totally despised it. He despised it for it didn't give him a gift, nor a blessing. But a mournful news for his heart.

Magnus was in love with someone else.

"Alec, I've been meaning to tell you something," Magnus began, although his voice sounded very airy and distant in Alec's ears. The hazel eyed man couldn't find himself grounded on the floor anymore. He was floating in a total limbo;  indefinite and hopeless.

" _I'm in love with you_."

And just like that, Alec fell onto the ground, hard. Suddenly, his mind was clueless as if he didn't know what to think... or what to believe.

"What?" His voice broke out, the tears still ready to overflow from his eyes any minute.

Magnus seemed to look even more broken than  he was a few minutes ago, "I've been in love with you a very long time. Others have noticed and have always told me that I should tell you. But I just couldn't. I don't know why but I felt as if I was physically...rendered incapable of it. Every single laugh, smile, words you sent in my way, it made my charade harder and harder to keep. I tried to move on... I really did. But... you seemed to be one who my heart wanted to be with all this while."

Magnus looked up, tears in his eyes, one even flowing out. "And let me tell you one thing, Alec. It hurt. It hurt like a bitch. Because it wasn't that I just wanted to date you or have a fling with you. No. No, I just wanted to be free to love you. And have you love me back. But I always had this fear you will never feel the same for me."

Another tear fell, and Alec's body felt like sliding to the floor. The sudden jump of emotions made him slow in realizing what to actually _feel_.

Magnus sniffed in harshly. "I guess, since it's our last year, and we don't have to talk to each other anymore, I don't think I have anything to lose. I already lost my heart."

Alec stared at the love of his life, speechless, and absolutely heartbroken. What happened to his voice? Where is it? Why is it not saying the one thing that it's been aching to say?

Magnus inhaled again. "I guess, I shouldn't take anymore of your time." He took one good look at Alec, as if he was cherishing the moment. " _Goodbye, Alexander_."

With that, Magnus Bane walked out of the room in finality.

And Alec stood there, frozen, absolutely incapable of grasping what just happened. He has been in love with Magnus for so many years, but he never was able to conceive the fact that Magnus would love him back.

"Oh shit," Alec said to himself and looked at the door from where Magnus had run out. He found himself running towards it, pushing through the crowds of students and not caring if he had even stepped on their shoes.

When he ran out of the school building, he began to search frantically around, thinking of how far could've Magnus even gone. But a miracle happened, when he noticed a lone figure walking in the parking lot.

And Alec could recognize that figure anywhere.

He ran, willing his legs to go to a speed he has never gone before. He wanted to yell for Magnus' name, but his voice was still gaining some consciousness.

"Magnus!" he yelled finally, once he was in a good hearing range. "Magnus, stop!"

Magnus had just unlocked the door of his car and was about to get it. But he stopped once he saw who was calling out his name. His jaw clenched, as if he was trying to stop himself from wailing.

"Alexander?" He said with incredulity. "What-what are you doing?"

Alec came to a standstill when he finally reached Magnus. "Telling you-" he was huffing, trying to regain his breath, "-telling you, that I love you too."

Magnus' eyes widened. "What?" he whispered into the thick air, his question barely able to break through.

Alec inhaled sharply. "I love you too. I have always loved you, stupid. And everyone else have been telling me that I've been very obvious."

Magnus still stood there in shock, the same way Alec had when he found out Magnus loved him. Alec sighed and walked a bit closer.

"I love you, Magnus Bane," he revealed. " _I love you_. I fell in love with you for the first time when he danced together at the Christmas party at my house when we were fourteen. I was in love with you when we were fifteen when you were laughing at my face after I was hit by a snowball. My love deepened more in the last two years. Magnus," he paused, as if he was still trying to find the right words. "I've loved you more than anyone can. I know this sounds like, really cheesy but it's a Christmas miracle honestly the fact that _you,_ love me-" Alec was cut off the touch of destiny on his lips.

Magnus' lips.

Which were against his, holding them, _cherishing them_. The energy pulsed between them, making Alec dizzy. He finally regained control, and held Magnus' face with his shivering palms, trying to show his love for the man through his lips.

A small dome formed over them. The dome of love. The one that protected them from scrutiny and interruption.  Because, these two boys could care any less about either of those.

Their lips moved vigorously against each other, trying to show each other what they've been missing out on for years. And that was love. Adoration. _A warm home_.

They seemed to be depriving their breaths from each other, for neither one wanted to stop kissing.

But they did finally part, with a small sound that sealed the deal of love. Magnus looked at Magnus with the same intense brown eyes, with the love that had been kept in him for a very long time. Alec, himself, was breathing really hard. His body was overwhelmed and hypersensitive. He had no idea how he even was standing.

"Merry Christmas, Alexander," Magnus whispered through the cold, warming the tiny space between him.

Merry Christmas indeed. For Alec had finally, revealed his love for his secret angel.

It wasn't a Christmas miracle.

It was the fate sealed by their meeting, years ago, during Christmas.

So really, this was the true gift of Christmas, that was finally received by the two boys, who had silently wished for it _for years_.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> you can contact me on twitter- my username is annplanet8  
> or on tumblr- justpresent :)


End file.
